Wednesday June 13, 2018, 6:45 pm
Palestinian Authority forces violently suppressed demonstrators in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday evening.

The protesters were demanding an end to PA sanctions that are compounding the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier in the day, the PA decided to stop granting permits for protests during the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan, to “make it easier for citizens to conduct their normal lives.”

Hours later, PA forces fired tear gas and sound grenades, attacked protesters and arrested journalists and activists before the holiday had even begun.

Palestinian Authority forces are funded by and trained under the supervision of the United States and the European Union.

EU trainers have included former members of British forces involved in human rights abuses in Northern Ireland.

European and American support for the PA is predicated on its willingness to continue “security coordination” with Israel, which means in practice helping to suppress any form of resistance to occupation.

Among those arrested was Yahya Rabie, head of the student union at Birzeit University:

PA forces beat and detained Sameh Abu Awad, president of the laborers union at Birzeit University, and arrested Tariq al-Sadiq, a member of the union.

Attacks on journalists

In this video, a plainclothes officer is seen attempting to seize a journalist’s phone:

Palestinian journalist Jihan Awad was among other reporters who were attacked and had their phones confiscated during the crackdown on protesters:

Quds News Network reported that security officials also arrested two journalists, American and Turkish.

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate condemned “the assault of the security services on journalists” and called for the aggressors to be held accountable.

Gaza sanctions

Hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank took to the streets multiple times this week calling on the PA to lift sanctions it imposed on the Gaza Strip last year.

Palestinians used the hashtag “lift the sanctions” in Arabic on Twitter to express solidarity with Gaza.

Palestinian civil society groups called on the PA to lift its ban on demonstrations, stating that it is “illegal, unconstitutional and a violation of citizens’ rights to gather peacefully and express their opinions.”

They added that PA security forces must ensure the safety of those participating in the protests.

Lethal sanctions

In April 2017, the PA drastically cut the salaries of public employees in Gaza, compounding the severe hardships caused by Israel’s decade-long siege.

The PA also delayed the approval of medical transfers to the West Bank, which resulted in deaths of Gaza patients, including a child.

PA leader Mahmoud Abbas imposed the sanctions as part of his efforts to oust Hamas, the rival of his own Fatah faction.

In 2006 Hamas defeated Fatah in legislative elections.

However, Abbas’ party, backed by Israel, the US, the EU and some Arab states, did not allow Hamas to govern the Palestinian Authority.

Instead, Fatah-aligned militias in Gaza, working with the United States, tried to remove Hamas from power by force.

But in June 2007, Hamas moved against them preemptively, expelling Fatah forces from Gaza.

The attempted putsch against Hamas after it won the elections resulted in the current division, where Abbas’ Western-backed PA kept control in the West Bank, while the internationally isolated Hamas has ruled the interior of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of Palestinians held a protest in Ramallah, last night, demanding that the Palestinian Authority (PA) cancel its sanctions against Gaza, describing these measures as punitive measures against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

The participants in the demonstration called on PA President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership to lift the sanctions imposed on the region, and called for the Implementation of the Palestinian National Council decisions on Gaza.

According to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, the demonstration was organized by a group called “Movement for Lifting Sanctions Imposed on Gaza”, a large movement of academics, journalists, writers, artists, prisoners, activists and citizens who decided to break the silence toward measures imposed by the Palestinian Authority on the Gaza Strip since March of 2017, in addition to ending the Palestinian division and achieving reconciliation.

The PA has called on Hamas, on 21/3/2018, to transfer control of the Gaza Strip to Ramallah government, saying it was prepared to assume its full responsibilities there, as tensions between the two factions continue to rise. The PA also called on Hamas to hand over the Gaza Strip all at once, and affirmed its readiness to take full responsibility for it.

Abbas, in April 2017, decided to wage a series of punitive measures against the Gaza Strip, to pressure Hamas in dissolving its Administrative Committee.

Although Hamas dissolved the committee in September of 2017, further sanctions were imposed. Most of the PA employees in Gaza receive only 30% of their monthly salaries.

Wednesday June 13, 2018, 6:55 pm
Bennett: ‘The West Bank Will Soon Become Part of Israel’.
June 13, 2018

The occupied West Bank and all the illegal settlements in it “soon become part of the State of Israel”, the head of the Jewish Home Party and Minister of Education in the Israeli government, Naftali Bennett, said yesterday.

According to Hebrew news site 0404, Bennett’s statements came in response to the Israeli occupation forces’ evacuation of 15 houses in the settlement of Netiv HaAvot on a hill belonging to Palestinian civilians in the town of Al-Khader, west of occupied Bethlehem.

Bennett confirmed that the government had approved the establishment of a settlement in the area, adding that a huge neighborhood will be built on this hill.

The demolition comes almost two years after the Israeli High Court of Justice first ruled that the buildings had been constructed on private Palestinian land. The court ordered that they be demolished by 8 March 2018, but granted a three-month delay to arrange temporary housing for the evicted settlers.

All settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are deemed illegal under international law. Israel’s continued settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem caused the failure of the last round of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2.